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Stanley Cup betting culminates in a doozie Game 7 this Friday, and that’ll leave us with one less sport to bet on this summer. Don’t worry—the U.S. Open is almost here and we can get a golf betting warmup by making picks for the St. Jude odds this week, which feature a better field than you’d expect. THE CONTENDERS – Phil Mickelson (+900), David Toms (+1300) Of this pair, one of them earns his offshore sportsbook favorite status on merit, while the other does so on name. Can you guess which is which? Mickelson is a favorite because of his talent and long list of golf betting accomplishments, but he’s a risky play this week, especially for a “favorite.” After taking time off to be with his ailing wife, he may be rusty and/or distracted this week. He’s also played just once at TPC Southwind , host of the ST. Jude Classic, and he missed the cut. David Toms, on the other hand, is a rock-solid pick. He has two career St. Jude victories, he leads the tour in driving accuracy, and he also cracks the top 10 in scoring average and proximity to hole. His peripherals set him up beautifully for Southwind, as it punishes the inaccurate (56 per cent of fairways hit, 53 of approaches on in regulation in 2008). WORTH CONSIDERING – Justin Leonard (+1400), Sergio Garcia (+1600) Leonard is the poor man’s David Toms in that he’s worth picking for similar reasons, but isn’t quite as good as Toms at this tourney. Leonard is the defending champ and he’s very accurate this season too, so he’s worth consideration at slightly better value than Toms. Those who bet sports have avoided Sergio like the plague lately, and for good reason; he’s been terrible on North American soil in 2009. He did tie for fourth in last year’s St. Jude odds and his approaches have been respectable (averaging less than 30 feet from the pin), so he has a shot at redemption this week. LONG SHOTS – Retief Goosen (+2500), Padraig Harrington (+3300) It’s strange to call these accomplished golfers long shots, but they simply aren’t set up well for success this week. Goosen has played decently in 2009 but he struggles at the St. Jude Classic (missed cut in 2008, 30th in 2007). Harrington is an enigma in 2008 golf betting. It seems some hacker is occupying the body of the 2008 Player of the Year, as Harrington has no top-10s in 11 starts this season. He tied Sergio for fourth at this tourney last year, so he could be worth a flier with that nice +3300 value. Offshore sportsbook pick: David Toms +1300 |